Remember
by scrub456
Summary: A chance conversation reveals the boys of Baker Street might have had an earlier meeting than that day at Bart's. (Just a wee bit of epic best friends fluff)
1. Serendipitous

***Author's Note***

"All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it." -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (from "The Little Prince")

A brief alternate first meeting story. This is actually the second chapter of a multi-chapter WIP piece that notjustmom and I are co-writing on AO3. This chapter stands fairly on its own, but if you'd like to read more (it's a continuous story, but each chapter is inspired by a different quote from "The Little Prince"), it's called "Quotes From Elsewhere," and you can check it out here: /works/7258249/chapters/16480279

* * *

"How do you feel about the beach?" John handed Sherlock a steaming mug, tucked himself into his chair, pointed his feet toward the fire, and wrapped his hands around his own mug for warmth.

"Loathsome. Absolutely detest it."

John huffed a quiet laugh.

"Why?" Sherlock narrowed his eyes at his flatmate.

"I'm thinking of taking a holiday. Just a week at the beach. Any beach. As long as it's warm." John shivered and wrapped his robe more tightly around him. "This winter is never going to end, and I'm tired of being cold all the time."

"I thought you of all people would be averse to anywhere that was all sun and sand." Sherlock wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"You're not wrong. But," John sipped his tea, "the beach has the ocean. And some of my happiest childhood memories. We spent a week at the beach every summer up until my mum died."

"A torturous month at the beach was inflicted upon me every summer until I was twelve years old." Sherlock grumbled. "My parents traveled abroad for mummy's lecture series, while Mycroft and I were dumped at our grandaunt Tilly's house on the coast. It was miserable."

"Miserable?" John frowned. "Really? No good memories at all? No adventures? Scientific discoveries? Friendships foraged?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to retort, then closed it just as quickly. "There was one summer. I was six. I saw a boy, he was older and bigger than me, climbing some rocks. I was curious, so I followed him. I slipped and got stuck. He found me, and cut his foot getting me out. He had to get stitches; I remember it seemed like a thousand to my childish mind."

John propped his elbow on the arm of his chair, rested his chin on his palm, and quirked his mouth into the slightest of smiles. "A bit of hero worship follow after?"

"Don't be ridiculous, John." Sherlock scoffed. "Though, Tilly did insist on treating him to a sundae. And we met back on the rocks every day for the next four days. I showed him different types of algae. He taught me to swim. We collected insects and sea shells." The corner of Sherlock's mouth ticked up into a tiny smile. "I suppose that summer was... tolerable."

"It sounds like you had genuine fun, Sherlock. And made a friend." John's smile grew a bit broader.

Sherlock hummed his agreement, though a hint of loneliness crept into his voice. "The day his family left, he told me they visited that beach every year, and that he would find me the next summer. But, he never came. I waited for him on the rocks everyday that next summer..." His sigh was wistful.

John's smile was tremulous, his own tone gone a bit sentimental. "Mum died two months after that trip. We couldn't afford the luxury of holidays at the beach after that."

Sherlock fixed his gaze on John then, scrutinizing every line of his face as if seeing him for the first time.

"If memory serves, I won a blue stuffed dog at the boardwalk, and gave it to you that last day. I thought he should be called Gladstone, but you picked Jean-Henri..."

"After Fabre, the French entomologist." Eyes wide in wonder, Sherlock barely managed a whisper. "John..."

"You went by William back then, and you must have tried to delete me when you were older because you thought I abandoned you." John slid his foot out of his ratty old slipper, scooted down in his chair, and propped his heel on Sherlock's knee. A thin silver line ran across the arch of his foot. "And it was only twelve stitches."

They sat in silent introspection for several moments, both in awe of this serendipitous revelation.

"John?"

"Yeah, Sherlock?"

"I believe you mentioned something about needing a bit of a holiday..."


	2. Memory

_***Author's Note***_

 _"Only the children know what they are looking for..."_ -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Readers wondered what young John and Sherlock were like. Here's an excerpt/flashback from another chapter. You can read the whole thing over on AO3. I won't be posting it here because I'm co-authoring it with a friend, and only half the chapters are technically mine. Anyway, I hope you enjoy...

* * *

 _"Does it hurt?"_

 _"Not so bad. Not any more." John climbed up onto a rock and sat down. He stripped off his shoes and socks (mum made him promise to wear them when he went out to play, but she hadn't made him promise to keep them on), and crossed his right ankle over his left knee. Beside him William crouched down to be eye level with his foot._

 _"You cried." William stared at the cut on the bottom of John's foot. It was bruised and there was a little bit of dried blood. Aunt Tilly said they were stitching John's foot just like she had stitched the tear in his jacket, but John's foot didn't look anything like the neat, almost invisible stitches he had imagined. John's stitches were big, and black, and ugly. And they looked terrible and wrong._

 _He really wanted to ask John if he could touch the stitches..._

 _William looked up at John when he realized his friend hadn't replied. He furrowed his little brow and studied John's face. The other boy was looking down at his hands, and his face was very red. Not sunburn red, but the type of red you turn when you've done something wrong. "Are you embarrassed John? "_

 _John nodded his head. "Yes... Harry called me a baby." He looked up at William, and sniffed. "I'm_ not _a baby. I tried to be brave, but it just hurt too bad."_

 _Scrambling up next to John on the rock, William knelt beside his friend. "Can I tell you a thecret?" Eyes wide, John nodded. William leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "Before you found me, I thought no one ever would... I cried too. A little bit."_

 _"I didn't know that." John blinked in surprise. "I don't think_ you're _a baby. Being all alone makes me sad sometimes too."_

 _William leaned against John's shoulder. "And I think you're the bravest boy in the world. You're braver than my brother Myc, and he's_ big... _And boring."_

 _John giggled. "My sister Harry is big and boring too. I wish I had a brother instead."_

 _"It's not fair! I wish_ you _were my brother." William pouted._

 _"Okay!" John grinned. "We'll be the best kind of brothers because we will be best friends too!"_

 _"But, we don't live at the same house like brothers are suppose to. We don't live near at all." William tried to keep up his pout, but he couldn't stop his mouth from smiling._

 _"Uhmm... Oh, I know!" John looked around them. "_ This _can be like our home. Every summer we can come up here, and this will be our place. Just for us."_

 _"Really?" William clapped his hands. "And when we're bigger we can find some grown-up place that will be just for us."_

 _"But every day. Not just during the summer."_

 _"Yes!" William jumped down from the rock in his excitement, and accidentally bumped John's sore foot. He froze and stared at the stitches. "Thorry, John... I didn't mean to..."_

 _"It's okay." John smiled conspiratorially. "The doctor said I mustn't touch the stitches, but I already did... Do you wanna?" He held his foot out toward William._

 _"Can I?" William clapped his hands again and dropped down to his knees. When John nodded, William cradled his foot carefully with one hand, and ran just the index finger of his other hand lightly over the cut. "It's so..._ Weird. _" He wrinkled his nose._

 _"And ticklish." John squirmed and covered his mouth to keep the giggles in. William considered testing just how ticklish John's foot was, but instead patted it tenderly, and gingerly guided it down._

 _"Did... Did you see where it happened?" William motioned to a group of rocks down below._

 _"No... I came up the other side."_

 _"Some of your blood is still there." The two boys stared at each other._

 _"Really?" John glanced down at the rocks._

 _William nodded. "And... There were bugs crawling," he gestured wildly with his hands, "all over it. It's_ disgusting."

 _"I..." John giggled. "Gross." William nodded again. And grinned. John abandoned his shoes and socks and they scrambled down the rocks together._


	3. Incomparable Wit

***A/N***

"If I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure..." -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

This is just a bit of a teaser for the much longer story over on AO3 (28 chapters as of this posting, and still a WIP. My co-author is working on the 29th as I type this note, actually). John and Sherlock have actually gone on a holiday at the beach… Specifically on one of the tiny islands of Greece. A few things to be aware of… Ioanna is a lady from the village, and a friend of Sherlock's late mother. Kya is mixed breed shepherd dog who belongs to a local farmer, but has adopted the boys as her own. John and Sherlock are epic best friends, and in this alternate universe, physical contact is not something they shy away from (the story on AO3 is tagged "handsy but platonic." Nothing sexual by any means).

* * *

Since Sherlock's morning routine, no matter how he tried to hurry, involved the unenviable task of reigning in the wild mop of curls, John took first turn in the loo. He showered and shaved quickly, noting the lack of dark circles under his eyes and worry/exhaustion lines around his mouth, despite having barely slept the night before.

John felt more energized than he had in years.

He pulled on blue swim shorts and his old worn grey RAMC t-shirt.

"All yours." John stopped short at the scene before him. Sherlock lying on the floor, under Kya, and they were wrestling over one of Sherlock's ridiculously expensive socks. It had been tied into a complex series of knots? "Uhm..."

"She doesn't have any toys in this house, so I made one."

"Right. Well, now she has a taste for expensive socks that smell like you. Good luck with that." John laughed. "Shower's free. I'll make tea."

"Don't think you've won. We'll finish this later." Sherlock relinquished the sock knot to Kya with a huff, scratched behind her ears, and headed off to get ready.

John discovered the tiny kitchen was without a toaster. A true travesty, really. He was reluctant to turn on the oven just for toast, and decided against it. Instead he cut thick slices from the loaf Ioanna had wrapped up for them. He found the small pots of honey and fig preserves he'd picked up in town. Then made an actual pot of tea and loaded everything on a tray.

He decided to take their breakfast to the small table on the patio, and was basking in the warmth of the sun when Sherlock stepped out. Hair artfully tousled, berk, yet another pristine linen shirt, and…

"Purple? You have purple swim shorts?" John almost dropped his tea.

"Aubergine." Sherlock corrected, and reached to examine the pot of honey.

"Wait. Before you do anything, try this." John handed his own slice of bread over to Sherlock. He'd spread the preserves on thick and then drizzled it with the honey. It was pretty damn fantastic, if he did say so himself.

Sherlock studied the concoction for a moment, took a large bite, and hummed in delight. "I don't care what anyone says about you," he mumbled around a full mouth, "You, John Watson, are a genius."

"If people are saying disparaging things about me and you aren't handling it, we need to talk." John smirked and held out his hand. "Now gimme. That's my breakfast."

Glancing at John's hand, Sherlock shoved the remaining slice of bread in his mouth. "Ooopth."

"Charming." Rolling his eyes, John fixed himself another slice of bread and poured more tea into his cup. "I thought we could walk the other way around to town, see more of the island?"

Humming his consent, Sherlock was clearly preoccupied. He had to try the bread plain, as a control sample. Then the bread with just preserves. Followed by the bread with just honey. And then he could experiment with different honey-to-preserve ratios…

"Right. I'll just leave you to it." John couldn't help but laugh as he cleared away most of the tea things, and left Sherlock alone to experiment. He washed the few dishes he had and decided to pack a small knapsack to take with them as they explored.

"John?" Sherlock brought his plate and the empty pots to the sink. "We're going to need more honey and preserves."

"I assumed we would," John laughed.

"And also, the cherries."

"Right."

"Maybe some figs? And I had some cured olives at the party, we'll need some of those."

"All right," John laughed. "Nice to see the food agrees with you."

"And I with it." Sherlock grinned. "I wonder if Ioanna could spare a loaf of bread. Oh, or honey cake... What's this?" Sherlock picked up John's knapsack.

"A few supplies to take along while we're exploring." John sat down to pull on his shoes.

"Supplies? John, you worry too much."

"Just a couple bottles of water. My wallet and pocket knife. Sunscreen. A towel..."

"A towel?" Sherlock wrinkled his nose. "That seems unnecessary."

"I read once that you can't really trust a man who goes on an adventure without one." John shrugged and grinned mischievously. "You never know what or who we'll come across. Besides, what if we swim?"

"Ah, Hitchhiker's Guide." Sherlock nodded in appreciation. "Fine. I'll concede the point."

"Okay, but that's my towel. You'll have to bring your own."

Sherlock sighed and feigned frustration. "Do you mind if I put my towel in your bag? And my wallet?"

"Since you asked so nicely. Put your wallet in the small pocket with mine, next to the first aid kit."

"First aid kit?" Sherlock cocked an eyebrow at John. "Really?"

"I know us." John shrugged. They both looked down at John's right foot.

Sherlock huffed a laugh. "I guess it's true."

"Hmm?"

"You can take the doctor out of the army, but you can't take the army out of the doctor."

John gigglesnorted. "Ha ha. Sherlock Holmes and his incomparable wit, ladies and gentlemen. He'll be here all week."

"Idiot." Sherlock laughed. He tossed John the knapsack, and reached out for his hand. "C'mon. Let's go explore."


	4. Constellations

*** A/N ***

"You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them..." -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Another flashback look at young John and William. Just for fun.

* * *

 _"Do you see it?"_

 _William sat up with a huff. "You said you were gonna teach me contha... constellations, John. Everyone knows the big dipper. Even my stupid brother knows that one!"_

 _"But if you find that one, you can find all the others. Have you seen Ursa Major? And Ursa Minor?" John was still lying on his back in the sand with his left arm under his head. He was tracing the outline of the constellations in the air above him with his right index finger._

 _"Ursa Major?" William turned to look at his friend, and leaned over him. His face was right above John's, which made John giggle. "What does that mean?"_

 _"It means Great Bear. In Latin, I think. Ursa Minor is Smaller Bear." John grinned at the confused look on William's face._

 _"It doesn't look like a bear! What's so great about it if it doesn't look like a bear?"_

 _"Not that kind of great. The big kind of great." John couldn't help giggling again. William was still staring down at him with a very serious expression. "And it does look like a bear."_

 _"Are you trying to trick me?" William frowned, and his expression became pinched. He sat back on his heels._

 _John sat up quickly, eyes wide with worry. "I'm not!" He chewed on his lower lip as he thought about what to say to his friend. William watched him suspiciously._

 _"Sometimes, if you look at something more than once, you can see it a different way." John offered tentatively._

 _"Explain." William narrowed his eyes._

 _Looking slightly embarrassed, John pulled his knees up to his chest. "I use to be afraid of the ocean. I was too scared to get in the water."_

 _The hard, distrustful look on William's face softened. "But, you love the water. You're the fastest swimmer. You taught me..."_

 _"I use to think it was too big and loud. One day, when I was little, my papa took me to the edge of the water. We just put our toes in and then our feet. He showed me how pretty and fun the ocean is." John's smile was bashful. "I had to look at it in a different kind of way before I liked it."_

 _William nodded slowly, and then looked up at the night sky for several moments. He squinted his eyes. He opened them wide. He stretched up tall on his tippiest-tippy-toes. And then he flopped down so he was laying next to John and pouted. "I can't see a bear. Why can you see it, and I can't?"_

 _"It's okay, William. I know what it looks like, I'll help you see it." John laid down so that his head was right next his friend's, and pointed up at the stars. "You have to look past what you already know, and see what else is there. The tip of the handle on the dipper is the bear's nose." He traced out the other stars in the formation with his finger._

 _With a gasp, William sat up and clapped his hands. "John, I can see it!" He threw his arms around John and hugged him. "That was brilliant! Will you show me more? Can you show me the little bear too?"_

 _John laughed and hugged William back. "I can show you more than that!"_

 _William scrambled to lay back down. John showed him how to find the outline of the little bear. Then the big lion and the little one too. Jupiter and Mars were both visible, and William was astounded by the sight of actual planets. They found Pegasus, and John told William about the big white horse with wings, and how he thought that it was probably just made up, but one day he was going to go on an adventure and he would find out for sure. "And you can come too, William."_

 _"Where will you go?"_

 _"Everywhere. We can go anywhere we want. We can try everything. Even the scary things, because we won't be scared if we're together." John smiled up at the sky._


End file.
